Bag tying apparatus and method of delivering promotional material using a bag tie

ABSTRACT

A bag tying apparatus and method for easy dispensing and packing. The bag tying apparatus comprises a base with a pair of horizontal parallel bag support arms having free outer ends cantilevered from a pair of vertical supports. The bag tying apparatus further comprises a pivotable bag tie support and loading arm with a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the loading arm is attached with the first vertical rod by a supporting means, a second end of the loading arm having a terminal end having a cut-out therein to retain a handle of a bag, and a plurality of stacked bag ties positioned coaxially. The terminal end having a cut-out therein of the bag tie support and loading arm is configured to receive the handle portion of the bags and permit the bag tie to be manually moved down over the terminal end having a cut-out therein and handle portion so as to close and fasten the open top ends of the bag. The bag ties have promotional material printed thereon. The invention also provides a computerized method for the measurement of the effectiveness of the usage of the bag tie as promotional material.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to a bag tying apparatus for easydispensing and packing and in particular to a bag tie to tie the openends of the bag and to methods of providing printed content havingentertainment or educational value, promotional samples, or otherpromotional information and advertising using a bag tie.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Grocery and other retail stores world-wide offer plastic bags at theircheckout counters to hold groceries and other items for transport bytheir customers. Such bags are typically assembled from thin plasticfilms and have two lateral cut-outs proximal to the bag's opening tofacilitate the customers to carry such bags by both straps with one handwhen loaded. Shoppers may also use shopping bags that are reusable, butstill have flexible handles. With both types of flexible bags, there isa possibility of spilling out of groceries from the plastic bags,especially when the customer is traveling in a vehicle such as a car, asthe spilling out is due to top end of the bags are open.

One possible option to overcome the above drawback is to have a knot atthe two split ends of the bags tied manually by the customer. But tyingand untying a knot manually is difficult and time consuming.

Also, retail store owners are looking out for a way to provideadvertisement, and other promotional material to their customers andpotential customers in a cost-effective manner, and in a manner that islikely to capture the attention of the customer.

Therefore, there is a need in the art to address the same as discussedabove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention provides a bag tie having aregion defining a hole/aperture to fit onto the open top ends of the bagso as to fasten the bag. The bag tie also has regions other than theaperture to hold advertisements, discounts or other promotional materialoffered by the retailer as a means of business promotions.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a bag tying apparatus foreasy dispensing and packing and in particular a bag tie to tie to theopen ends of the bag. In one embodiment, the bag tying apparatuscomprises a rack base plate with a pair of horizontal parallel armshaving free outer ends cantilevered from a pair of vertical supports, afirst vertical rod and a second vertical rod extending upwardly from thebag support apparatus base plate, wherein the pair of horizontalparallel arms are configured for receiving a plurality of stacked bags.The bag tying apparatus also comprises a bag tie support and loading armwith a first end of the arm attached with the first vertical rod by asupporting means, a second end of the loading arm having a hangingterminal hook-like end and a plurality of stacked bag ties positionedcoaxially, wherein the loading arm is configured to receive the handleportion of the bags and permit the bag tie to be manually moved downover the hook end and handle portion of the bag so as to close andfasten the open top ends of the bag.

One embodiment of the invention relates to a method for deliveringbusiness promotions to a prospective customer, wherein the methodcomprises the steps of providing a bag tie with one of the regions ofthe bag tie defining an aperture for allowing the open top ends of thebag to pass over the bag tie, having promotional information printed inthe region other than the region defining the aperture and receiving thehandle portion of the bag and permitting the bag tie to be manuallymoved over the handle portion of the bag so as to close and fasten theopen top ends of the bag, while the bag tie is in the view of the saidprospective customer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a bag tie closing an opening of abag;

FIG. 1A shows a detailed top view of the bag tie shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 shows a detailed top view of a second embodiment of a bag tie;

FIG. 3 shows a detailed top view of a third embodiment of a bag tie;

FIG. 4 shows a detailed perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a bagtie;

FIG. 5 shows a detailed perspective view of a fifth embodiment of a bagtie;

FIG. 6 shows a detailed perspective view of a sixth embodiment of a bagtie;

FIG. 7 shows a detailed view of a seventh embodiment of a bag tie;

FIG. 7A shows the bag tie shown in FIG. 7 in an alternate configuration;

FIG. 8 shows a detailed view of an eighth embodiment of a bag tie;

FIG. 8A shows the bag tie shown in FIG. 8 in an alternate configuration;

FIG. 9 shows a detailed view of a ninth embodiment of a bag tie;

FIG. 9A shows a cross-sectional view taken along section line 9A-9A ofFIG. 9;

FIG. 10 shows a detailed view of a tenth embodiment of a bag tie in afirst configuration;

FIG. 11A shows a detailed view of the bag tie of FIG. 10 in a secondconfiguration;

FIG. 11B shows a detailed view of the bag tie of FIG. 10 in a thirdconfiguration;

FIG. 12 shows a detailed view of the bag tie of FIG. 7 coupled to acarrier device;

FIG. 13 shows a detailed view of an eleventh embodiment of a bag tie;

FIG. 14 shows top views of four embodiments of a bag tie, each having adifferent perimeter shape and cover design;

FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of a bag tying apparatus having a bagtie support arm according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 shows a front view of the bag tying apparatus of FIG. 15according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 17 shows a side view from the bag tie support arm side of FIG. 15;

FIG. 18 shows a top view of the bag tying apparatus of FIG. 15 accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 19 show an exploded view of a pivotal mounting bracket for the bagties support arm of bag tying apparatus of FIG. 15 according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a pivotalmounting bracket and bag tie support arm for a bag tying apparatus inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 21 shows a front view of the embodiment of the pivotal mountingbracket and bag tie support arm shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 shows a side view from the left side of FIG. 21 of theembodiment of the pivotal mounting bracket and bag tie support arm shownin FIG. 20.

FIG. 23 shows a top view from the left side of FIG. 21 of the embodimentof the pivotal mounting bracket and bag tie support arm shown in FIG.20.

FIG. 24 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of the bag tyingapparatus of FIG. 15, with shopping bags placed onto the horizontal bagsupport arms of the apparatus and with a plurality of bag ties supportedon the bag tie support arm.

FIGS. 25, 26, 27 shows successive views of a bag tie being placed ontothe handles of a shopping bag supported by the bag tie support arm,showing the manner in which the bag tie is attached to the handles in abag tying apparatus operates according to one or more embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 28 shows the top of a shopping bag having a bag tie placed onto thehandles thereof, after the shopping bag has been removed from the bagtying apparatus and ready for handling and transportation by thecustomer.

FIG. 29 shows a schematic depiction of a computerized method of trackingcustomer rewards and information relating to use of the bag ties of anembodiment of the present invention having promotional material printedthereon.

FIG. 30 shows a method of delivering business promotions to aprospective customer according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a binding device, shown as a bag tie1000, which may be configured to close the opening of a container, suchas a bag A. It should be noted that bag tie 1000 may have a wide varietyof shapes and configurations. When the term bag tie 1000 is used herein,it refers generally to any of the bag tie embodiments of any shape orconfiguration, even if those bag ties are also depicted in thisdisclosure using different item numbers.

The bag A may comprise a plastic grocery bag with opposing handles A1,A2 extending from an opening in the bag A. A user of the bag A may bringthe handles A1, A2 together and tie or bind at least a portion of thehandles A1, A2 using bag tie 1000 to close the opening.

The bag tie 1000 may be slipped over the handle portions A1, A2 by theuser and onto a neck portion of the bag A to bind at least a portion ofthe handles A1, A2 together and close the opening of the bag A. The bagtie 10 may maintain the bag A in a closed configuration to keep anycontents in the bag A secure.

The bag tie 1000 may bind the handles A1, A2 together to close the bagA, without the user needing to tie the handles together in a knot. Thisallows the user to have easy access to the contents of the bag A. Forexample, the bag tie 1000 may be slipped back over the handle portionsA1, A2 by the user to unbind the handles A1, A2, when it is desired tounload the contents of the bag A. Further, the bag tie 1000 also keepsthe contents, such as groceries, dry, prevents the contents fromspilling out during transportation and does not damage the grocery andbag.

FIG. 1A shows a detailed view of the bag tie 1000 according to anembodiment of the invention. The bag tie 1000 may comprise a perimeterhaving a shape. In the embodiment shown, the perimeter shape issubstantially rectangular comprising side edges 13 and 14. However, asdisclosed herein, the bag tie 1000 may have any number of shapes andconfigurations.

The bag tie 1000 may comprise a substantially flat member having a topsurface 11 and a bottom surface 12. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the topsurface 11 may comprise a substantially flat planar surface. In someembodiments, the bottom surface 12 may comprise a substantially flatplanar surface extending in parallel to the top surface 11. The topsurface 11 and the bottom surface 12 may be separated by a thickness. Insome embodiments, the bag tie 1000 is configured as a flat member with athickness to allow the bag tie 1000 to be stackable with other bag tieshaving a similar configuration.

A first area of the top surface 11 may comprise an aperture 15 extendingfrom the top surface 11 through the bag tie 1000 to the bottom surface12. The aperture 15 may be configured with a size and shape to allow thehandles A1, A2 of the bag A to pass into and through the aperture 15 forbinding at least a portion of the handles A1, A2 together.

In some embodiments, the aperture 15 may comprise a circular shape. Thediameter of the circular shape may be configured to substantially closethe opening of the bag A when the handles A1, A2 have been inserted intothe aperture 15 to hold in any contents of the bag A. It will beunderstood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that the aperture 15may comprise other suitable shapes, including but not limited to anoval, square, triangle, and star shapes.

In some embodiments, one or more weakened portions, cut-lines orperforations 16 (sometimes referred to herein as slits, for convenience)may extend from the edges of the aperture 15 along the top surface 11 ofthe bag tie 10. The slits 16 may comprise narrow perforations in the bagtie 1000. The perforations of each slit 16 may extend from the topsurface 11 to the bottom surface 12. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the bagtie 1000 may comprise four slits 16 positioned substantially equidistantabout the circumference of the aperture 15.

The slits 16 may be configured to allow a portion of the bag tie 1000extending between each slit 16 around the aperture 15 to flex or flareaway from the handles A1, A2 as the handles are being inserted into theaperture 15. The flexing or flaring of these portions of the bag tie1000 expands the size of the aperture 15 and changes its shape to allowgreater space and flexibility for insertion of the handles A1, A2.

In some embodiments, the portions of the bag tie 1000 extending betweeneach slit 16 may configured to resiliently bend. For example, theportions may flex or flare away from a first undisturbed position as thehandles A1, A2 are being inserted. Once insertion is complete, theportions may substantially return to their original undisturbedposition. The resiliency of these portions may have the additionalbenefit of holding the position of the bag tie 100 relative to thehandles A1, A2. In some embodiments, portions of the handles A1, A2 maycatch between sides of a slit 16 to provide further holding capability.The bag tie can be conveniently made out of plastic, thick paper or cardstock or many other materials. Though thick paper and card stock haveless resiliency than certain plastics, the resiliency of thick paper orcard stock is sufficient for purposes of the invention.

Other areas of the top surface 11 may comprise printed material, such astext, illustrations, entertainment content, bar codes or other subjectmatter or devices configured to convey messages or information. As shownin FIG. 1A, the top surface 11 may comprise printed offers 17A and 17Bfor goods or services of third parties to the user of the bag tie 10.The offers 17A and 17B may read “20% OFF NEXT PURCHASE” and “ENTER OFFERCODE #ABC123.” An information block 17C may identify the party “XYZCOMPANY” offering the goods or services and provide other usefulinformation, such as contact information. The offers 17A and 17B maycommunicate advertising, promotional, or discount messages from a thirdparty, e.g. XYZ COMPANY. In some embodiments, a third party may beresponsible for manufacturing the bag tie 10 and may defer costs ofmanufacturing, or obtain profit, by selling areas of the top surface 11as advertising or promotional space to one or more sponsors.

In some embodiments, the sponsor providing the bag tie 1000 may be agrocer or other retail store that distributes the bag A and/or bag tie1000 to customers as part of its retail services, for example as agrocery bag to hold groceries. The offers 17A and 17B may comprisein-store coupons or promotions for discounts or prizes that users mayredeem at a subsequent visit or purchase to the grocery store. In otherinstances, the sponsor may be a third party, such as a merchant orrestaurant.

In other embodiments, the offers 17A, 17B, the informational block 17C,or other information or data may be printed or positioned on the bottomsurface 12. The bottom surface 12 may provide additional space to addsponsored information, advertisements, promotions, or coupons.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a bag tie 20, as a second embodimentof a bag tie. The bag tie 20 may comprise a perimeter having asubstantially rectangular shape along three edges, i.e. edges 23 and 24Aand having a fourth rounded edge 24B. The bag tie 20 may share one ormore of the same features as bag tie 10 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A),including but not limited to a substantially flat member having aperimeter with a shape (e.g. sides 23, 24A, and 24B) with a top surface21 and a bottom surface 22, and having an aperture 25 with slits 26,respectively. An area of the top surface 21 may comprise an advertisingmessage 27A and informational block 27C from a third party sponsor, e.g.“XYZ COMPANY.” In some embodiments, bag tie 20 may further comprise amachine readable representation of data, such as a bar code 27B, whichcan be used by the store, sponsor or customer in a variety of manners,including tracking the bag tie and/or providing the customer somepromotional benefit for using the bag tie in the desired manner, such asavailing some percentage of discount for a particular product purchasedby the sponsor of the printed advertisement 27A.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a bag tie 30, as a third embodimentof a bag tie. The bag tie 30 may share one or more of the same featuresof bag tie 10 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A), including but not limited tobeing a substantially flat member having a perimeter with a rectangularshape (e.g. square sides 33) with a top surface 31 and a bottom surface32, and having an aperture 35 with slits 36. An area of the top surface31 may comprise an advertising message 37A and informational block 37Cfrom a third party sponsor, e.g. “XYZ COMPANY.” In some embodiments, bagtie 30 may further comprise a machine readable representation of data,such as a Quick Response (“QR”) code 37B, where the user can use thecode 37B for accessing advertising, promotional materials, offers, orother useful information relating to the third party sponsor of theprinted advertisement 37A.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, in other embodiments, the bag tie 10 maybe made from various materials. FIG. 4 shows the bag tie 40 made fromcardboard. FIG. 5 shows the bag tie 50 made from paper. FIG. 6 shows thebag tie 60 made from plastic. Each of the embodiments of bag ties 40,50, and 60 may share one or more of the same features as bag tie 10,including but not limited to a substantially flat member having aperimeter with a rectangular shape (e.g. sides 43, 53, and 63) with atop surface (e.g. 41, 51, and 61) and a bottom surface (e.g. 42, 52, and62), and having an aperture (e.g. 45, 55, and 65) with slits (e.g. 46,56, and 66), respectively.

It will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that othermaterials may be suitable for the bag tie 10 to meet the objectives ofthe inventions disclosed here and readily apparent, including paper,cardboard, plastics, composites, and metals. In some embodiments, thebag tie is made from substantially recycled paper (e.g. approximately40%).

FIG. 7 shows a detailed and open view of the single-fold (double) bagtie according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 7A shows the samesingle-fold (double) bag tie in a partially folded and clamp-like view.The bag tie 70 of this embodiment of the invention contains a singlefold line 74F in the middle as to create two equal halves 73A and 73B.Each half contains an aperture 75A and 75B that can be of substantiallyequal distance from 74F. Consequently, the apertures substantiallycompletely overlap when the bag tie is folded along the fold line 74F.This allows for easy deployment of the single fold (double) bag tie 70onto the bag 248. Each aperture 75A and 75B contains weakened portions,cut-lines or perforations 76A and 76B, respectively, that are equaldistance from each other and radiate from the edge of the aperture 75Aand 75B, which can open up, when necessary, to permit the bag handles toenter, thus permitting a tighter fit around the bag material. The singlefold (double) bag tie has an inner surface 71A and 71B and an outersurface 72A and 72B. The outer surfaces 72A and 72B may containpromotional offers 77A and 77B, advertising, and contact information foran advertiser 77C and/or a bar code. The single-fold (double) bag tie 70is rectangular, such that its length 74A and 74B is approximately equalto each half of the total width 73A and 73B, respectively.

The single-fold (double) bag tie 70 is advantageous in that in additionto providing a double pass tie mechanism for each bag 248, the foldingover action will cause the bag tie 70 to tend to resiliently openpartially, as depicted in FIG. 7A, resulting in a tighter grip betweenthe bag tie 70 with the bag material 248 at each of the apertures 75Aand 75B. Further, the fold over line 74F may be a perforation line, soas to allow for independent advertising, educational, and motivationalmaterial on each half, where the contents of each half may becoordinated, or independent.

FIG. 8 shows a detailed and open view of the double-fold bag tie withperforation line(s) according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 8Ashows the same double-fold bag tie with perforation line(s) in apartially folded view. The bag tie 80 of the invention contains a doublefold line 84F1 and 84F2 as to create three equal parts 83A, 83B, and83C, and the said fold line 84F1 and 84F2 may be perforation lines. Onenon-center portion 83A contains an aperture 85 that is approximately inthe center of that portion 83A. Said aperture 85 has four perforations86 that are placed a substantially equal distance from each other on thecircumference of the aperture 85. The double fold bag tie 80 withperforation line(s) has an inner surface 81A, 81B, and 81C and an outersurface 82A, 82B, and 82C. One or more of the outer surface portions82A, 82B, or 82C, may contain promotional materials 87AA and 87BA, offercoding 87BA and contact information for an advertiser 87CA. The innersurface 81B and 81C of the non-aperture containing portions 83B and 83Cmay include an opaque “scratch off” covering concealing secretinformation 87AB and 87AC, i.e., a prize information underneath the“scratch-off” covering, and may be lined with glue, as to adjoin theinner surfaces of 83B and 83C. The double-fold bag tie with perforationline(s) 80 is rectangular, such that its length 84 is approximatelyequal to the width of each portion 83A, 83B, and 83C, respectively.

The double-fold bag tie 80 with perforation line(s) is advantageous inthat, in addition to having a single pass tie mechanism for each bag248, the two additional portions 83B and 83C may contain a significantadditional amount of promotional, educational, entertainment, andmotivational material on each side 81B, 82B, 81C and 82C of each portion83B and 83C. The fold over mechanism, based on the fold over lines 84F1and 84F2, which may be perforation lines allows for four surfaces toserve as means for delivering promotional, educational, entertainment,and motivational material in a coordinated or independent manner, suchthat at least half of such information may be secreted and require aninteractive activity with the end user, i.e., scratch off, therebyenhancing the value assigned by the end user to the presented material.Additionally, the non-aperture portions 83B and 83C may enhance the easewith which the double-fold bag tie 80 is deployed.

FIG. 9 shows a detailed view of a single aperture bag tie with anattached promotional material according to an embodiment of theinvention. FIG. 9A shows an enhanced and detailed cross-view of sectionof the single aperture bag tie 90. Said bag tie 90 contains a bag tieportion 90A and a portion for promotional material 90B. The bag tieportion 90A and the promotional material portion 90B are attached toeach other using an adhesive 99, such that the shorter length 94B of thepromotional material attaches to the bag tie portion 90A. The bag tieportion 90A contains a single aperture 95 and has four perforations 96that are placed equal distance from each other on the circumference ofthe aperture 95. Further, the bag tie portion is approximately square,with four equal sides 93A, a top surface 91A, and a bottom surface 92A.The promotional material portion 90B can be rectangular in shape suchthat its width 94B is no longer than the longest dimension of the bagtie portion 90A. Further, the length of the promotional material portion90B may be variable so as to accommodate the relevant advertisement(s)97A and a barcode 97B or other coding information. Relevant informationmay be printed on both the top and bottom surfaces 91B and 92B,respectively, of the promotional portion of the single aperture bag tie90.

The single aperture bag tie 90 with promotional material is advantageousin that in addition to having a single pass tie mechanism for each bag248, the consumer's attention would be readily called to the promotionalmaterial and such material may be available for immediate use, thusserving as a mechanism for instant gratification for actual customers.Further, such a reward mechanism allows the merchant and advertiser toprovide more rewards, promotions, information, education, and/ormotivation to those customers that purchase large quantities and/orlarger sized items.

FIG. 10 shows a detailed and open view of the triple aperture bag tiewith fold lines according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 11Ashows the same triple aperture bag tie with fold lines in a partiallyfolded view, and FIG. 11B shows the same triple aperture bag tie withfold lines in a closed view.

The bag tie 100 of the invention contains a double fold line 104F1 and104F2 as to create three equal parts 103A, 103B, and 103C, and the saidfold line 104F1 and 104F2 may be perforation lines. Each portion 103A,103B, and 103C contains an aperture 105A, 105B, and 105C that are,respectively, approximately in the center of that portion, such thatapertures 105A, 105B, and 105C substantially completely overlap when thesaid bag tie 100 is completely closed, as depicted in FIG. 11B. Saidapertures 105A, 105B, and 105C each has four weakened portions,cut-lines or perforations 106A, 106B, and 106C, respectively, that areplaced equal distances from each other on the circumference of theapertures 105A, 105B, and 105C. The triple aperture bag tie 100 withdouble fold lines has an inner surface 101A, 101B, and 101C and an outersurface 102A, 102B, and 102C. One or more of the outer or innersurface(s) 101A-C and/or 102A-C may contain promotional materials 107A,offer coding 107B and/or contact information for an advertiser 107Cand/or a bar code. The triple aperture bag tie with fold lines 100 isrectangular, such that its length 104A and 104C are approximately equalto the width of each portion 103A, 103B, and 103C, and one-third thesize of the overall width. Further, tape with printed material 109 maybe used to maintain the triple aperture bag tie with fold lines in acompletely closed position.

The triple aperture bag tie 100 with fold lines is advantageous in that,in addition to having a triple pass tie mechanism for each bag 248, thefolding over action will cause the bag tie 100 to tend to resilientlyopen partially, as depicted in FIG. 11A, resulting in a tighter gripbetween the bag tie 100 with the bag material 248 at each of theapertures 105A, 105B, and 105C. Further, the fold over lines 104F1 and104F2 may be perforation lines, so as to allow for independentadvertising, educational, and motivational material on each half, wherethe contents of each portion may be coordinated or independent. Also,having the triple aperture bag tie 100 with double folds closed withtape 109, increases the mystery, and the associated consumer interest,as to the contents of the enclosed portions. And, having the perforationlines allows consumers to conveniently use the promotions one at a timeor to share them with family and friends, thereby increasing theirperceived value to actual customers.

The bag tie of the invention may be of any shape such as a triangle,rectangle, polygonal, hexagonal, circular, cylindrical, or a polygonaland structure is not limited to the embodiments shown in the invention.

Also, the bag tie may be any design such as a car depicting the discounton a specific car service center, a book, a toy or a flower.

Referring now to FIG. 12, the bag tie 70, as described in FIGS. 7 and7A, may be configured to couple to a carrier device, such as a samplebag 70B. The sample bag 70B may be configured to hold an item related tothe promotions offers 77A (reading “FREE SAMPLE!) and 77B (reading “NEXTPURCHASE ENTER OFFER CODE #ABC123”) offered by the advertiser identifiedin the advertiser block 77C. For example, the carrier device 70B mayhold a free product sample 70B5 of a product of the advertiser 77C toincentivize a purchase. It will be understood by persons of ordinaryskill that the carrier device may be configured to hold other items andpromotional material.

In some embodiments, the sample bag 70B may comprise side walls 70B3, afront wall 70B1, a back wall 70B2, a bottom 70B4C, and an opening at thetop portion of the sample bag 70B. The side, front and back walls of thesample bag 70B may be grouped together to close the opening of thesample bag 70B.

The bag tie 70 may be configured to attach to the sample bag 70B andclose the opening of the sample bag 70B to secure any contents in thesample bag 70B. In some embodiments, each half 73A and 73B of the bagtie 70 may be secured to the respective front wall 70B 1 and back wall70B2 to close the opening, when the bag tie 70 is fully folded, as shownin FIG. 12.

The halves 73A and 73B may be secured together and to the respectivefront wall 70B 1 and back wall 70B2 to close the opening with afastener. The fastener may be configured to prevent unwanteddisconnection of the sample bag 70B from the bag tie 70, for exampleduring storage or use of the bag tie 70 by manufacturers, retailers, orcustomers. The fastener may be additionally configured for easydisconnection of the sample bag 70B, for example when the user applies adisconnection force and wants to access the contents of the sample bag70B. In some embodiments, the fastener comprises an adhesive material,such as glue. It will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in theart that the fastener may comprise other suitable fastening materials ordevices, including but not limited to staples, clips, and snaps.

Referring to FIG. 13, a binding device, shown as bag tie 130, may beintegrated with informational or other functional materials or devices.In one embodiment, the bag tie 130 may comprise an aperture 135Aconfigured with a size and shape to allow the handles A1, A2 of the bagA to pass into and through the aperture 15 for binding at least aportion of the handles A1, A2 together. The aperture 135A may beintegrated with an item that, although of generally low cost to thesponsor, has an independent value to the user because of its intrinsicvalue to the customer and/or its printed contents, such as a bookportion 137T (shown titled “CHILDRENS BOOK”) of the bag tie 130. The bagtie 130 may comprise a substantially flat member having a size, shape,and thickness configured to support stacking two or more bag ties 130.

The book portion 137T may comprise a front cover 134A extending on afront side 132A and a back cover 134B extending on a back side 134B.Each cover 134A and 134B may comprise a substantially flat planar memberextending substantially in parallel to the other cover. The separationbetween each cover 134A and 134B may establish the thickness of the bagtie 130.

The book portion 137T may further comprise a spine 134F which may bindthe front cover 134A, the back cover 134B, and pages 137P that extendbetween the covers 134A, 134B and span the thickness of the bag tie 130.The pages 137P may contain informational material, such as educationalmaterial. For example, the pages 137P may tell a children's story or apart of a story as a promotion for the party or a sponsor providing thebag tie 130 to the user.

In some embodiments, the front cover 134A and the back cover 134B maycomprise extensions 133HA and 133HB, respectively. Each extension 133HAand 133HB may extend away from the portion of the covers 134A and 134Bthat function to cover the pages 137P. Each extension 133HA and 133HBmay form a part of the same plane as the remainder of each respectivecover 134A and 134B so that the bag tie 130 is substantially flat.

The aperture 135A may extend through each extension 133HA and 133HB. Theuser may pull the handles A1, A2 of the bag A (shown in FIG. 1) throughthe aperture 135A to bind at least a portion of the handles A1, A2together to close the bag A.

In other embodiments, the extensions 133HA and 133HB are integrallyformed with the respective cover 134A and 134B so that each cover 133HAand 133HB is one piece with the extension 133HA and 133HB. In otherembodiments, the extensions 133HA and 133HB may be removable, forexample by tearing the extensions 133HA and 133HB away so that after useof the bag tie 130 the book portion 137T may be kept by the user. Inother embodiments, the bag tie 130 may not include the extensions 133HAand 133HB, and the aperture 135 may extend through the book portion 137Tand be integrated into the pages 137P of the book portion 137T.

FIG. 14 shows a view of the different shapes of the bag tie according toan embodiment of the invention. The bag tie of the present invention isof any shape 140A, 140B, 140C and 140D as shown in FIG. 14. The bag tiecomprises a bar code 147B, wherein the customer may scan the bar code ofthe bag tie using a mobile phone so as to take the user to the requiredwebsite, wherein the required website may provide a website and/or allowthe possibility of delivering a promotional message.

FIGS. 15-18 show a bag tying apparatus for facilitating use of bag tiesaccording to an embodiment of the invention. The bag tying apparatus 200comprises a base plate 210 with a pair of horizontal parallel bagsupport arms 214, 218 having free outer ends cantilevered from a pair ofvertical supports 224, 228 (i.e. a first vertical rod 224 and a secondvertical rod 228) extending upwardly from the base plate 210, whereinthe pair of horizontal parallel bag support arms 214, 218 are configuredfor receiving and supporting the handles A1 and A2, respectively, of aplurality of stacked bags 258 (as shown in FIG. 4).

The bag support arms 214, 218 permit the user (who could be either thecustomer of the store employee loading goods into the bag) to manuallyopen and then load the bag with goods, and then slide the handles ofeach loaded bag from the plurality of stacked bags 258 (as shown in FIG.25) forwardly so as to remove the loaded bag from the base plate and toopen the next successive bag. The stacked bags 258 (as shown in FIG. 4)comprises front walls, rear walls, gusseted side walls, a closed bottomend and a top open mouth portion, wherein the top open mouth portionhave a pair of spaced support arms in order to fit in the free outerends of the pair of horizontal parallel rods 214, 218.

The bag tying apparatus 200 further comprises a bag tie support arm 234.Bag tie support arm 234 has a vertical rod 224 that is supported by asupport bracket 190. The bag tie support arm 234 has a first lower end238 extending upwardly to generally horizontal arm 235 having a secondend 244. The second end 244 has a terminal end 245 that is convenientlymade out of plastic. To facilitate sliding the bag ties 1000 onto thebag, in the manner to be described, the rear part of the terminal end245 has a conical or otherwise sloped end 246.

Terminal end 245 includes cut-outs at the upper side that meet as a “v”in the terminal end. These cut-outs function to hold and support thehandles A1 and A2 of the bag during placement of the bag tie 1000 ontothe handles A1 and A2.

The cut-outs in the upper portion of terminal end 245 include a shallowslope cut-out 247 at the rear and upper part of the terminal end 245 anda steep slope cut-out 248 at the forward and upper part of terminal end245. The steep slope cut-out 248 helps to prevent the bag handles A1 andA2 from slipping off the end of terminal end 245 while the bag handlesA1 and A2 are being supported. Preferably, the steep cut-out 248 iseither vertical or slightly angled away from the “v” where it meetsshallow cut-out 247, such that the “v” has an angle greater than about90 degrees and tipped forward slightly. This permits holding of the baghandles A1 and A2 satisfactorily and minimizes likelihood of unintendedslippage of the bag handles off of the terminal end 245, while alsominimizing the likelihood of the bag handles A1 and A2 becoming jammedinto the “v” between the cut-outs 247 and 248 when the bag handles A1and A2 are to be removed, as might be the case if the “v” was an acuteangle. To minimize the possibility of injury, the terminal end 245 ispreferably rounded and of a large enough size (approximately ¼ inch indiameter or greater) so as not be pose a risk of impaling or scratchinga person.

FIG. 19 shows an exploded view of the support bracket 190 which is usedto support the lower end of bag tie support arm 234. In one embodimentof the invention, the support arm 234 is pivotably retained by supportbracket 190. Support bracket 190 has a front half 190A and a rear half190B which are held together by screws 191. The bracket 190 includesbushing 193 through in which the lower end 238 is retained. Each of thebracket halves 190A and 190B have slots 188 and 189. Slot 188 retainsbushing 193 and slot 189 fixes the bracket halves 190A and 19B ontovertical support 224 of the bag tying apparatus.

The support arm 234 is held up by collar 194, which is secured tosupport arm 234 by set screw 195, so that support arm 234 can be pivotedin bushing 193. This allows the support arm to be pivoted so the end 244of the support arm can be pivoted to the side of, or behind, the bagwhile groceries or other goods are being loaded into the bag. A washer197 is disposed above collar 194 to minimize entanglement of a stack ofbag ties 1000 with collar 194.

FIGS. 20-23 show an alternate embodiment of a support bracket 290. Inthis embodiment, the support bracket 290 includes a flat plate 291,which can be attached to a vertical wall or other surface (not shown) bymeans of bolts 192, rather than being attached to the vertical support224 of the bag tying apparatus. In this embodiment, two bushings 293 and294 are used, placed into semi-circular retainers at the upper and lowerparts of the flat plate 291, respectively. Similar to the embodiment ofthe support bracket 190, a collar 294 and set screw 295 are attached tothe lower end of a pivotable support arm 334 to permit pivoting thesupport arm to the side or behind, a bag during loading of goods intothe bag, and to permit pivoting of the support arm over the bag topermit attachment of bag ties 1000. The support arm 334 includes aterminal end 245 that can be constructed in the manner previouslydescribed.

FIG. 24 depicts a plurality of stacked bag ties positioned coaxially254, wherein the loading arm 234 is in the position where it is pivotedover the bag to receive the handle portion of the bag 248 (shown in FIG.25) and permit the bag tie (from the plurality of stacked bag ties 1000)to be manually moved down over the hook end 244 and handle portion A1and A2 of the bag 248 (shown in FIG. 24) so as to close and fasten theopen top ends of the bag 248 (shown in FIG. 24). However, it is to beunderstood that the loading arm 234 would normally be pivoted to theside or behind the bag to prevent the loading arm 234 from interferingwith actual loading of the goods into the bag.

Once the groceries or other goods are loaded into the bag, the end 244of the support arm can be pivoted over the bag, as depicted in FIG. 24,to facilitate supporting the handles A1 and A2 on the “v” of terminalend 245. The user who has visited the market for buying goods (or astore employee), hangs the filled bag 248 onto the hanging realisablyhook end 244.

As depicted sequentially in FIGS. 25-27, with the handles A1 and A2supported in this manner, the bag tie 1000 can be easily slid along thelength of the support arm 234 and down over the handles A1 and A2 of thebag, to hold them together as depicted in FIG. 28, for furthertransportation without the risk of the bag tipping over and spilling outthe contents.

An advantageous feature of the bag tie 1000 and bag tying apparatus ofthe present invention is that, at all times, at least one bag tie isvisible to the customer or potential customer. Since the bag tie 1000will usually have advertising or other promotional material printed onit, having that advertising or other promotional material visible to thecustomer or potential customer while the customer is waiting for thecheckout process at the cash register to be completed and the bagsloaded, increasing the likelihood of the customer will take the desiredaction (such as using a coupon, using a sample etc.) in response to thepromotional message. Furthermore, because the process of placing the bagtie 1000 onto the bag tends to attract the attention of the customer atan otherwise inattentive time, thus further increasing the likelihood ofsuccessfully delivering the advertising or promotional message.

The loading arm 234 is capable of holding a substantial number of bagties 1000 (approximately 50 to 100 or more, depending upon the bag tiedesign). The loading arm 234 is also capable of being mounted to anyexisting bag holder, where the same is designed to hold-up to continueduse.

The bags can be of the plastic thin film type (usually provided by thestore) which are often referred to as “T-Shirt” bags because of thesimilarity of their flat shape to a short-sleeved T-Shirt.Alternatively, a user (the customer or employee of the store) can placethe handles of any flexible bag having flexible handles, such as areusable cloth or plastic shopping bag (not shown) onto the support arms214 and 214 prior to loading the goods into the bag. The manner ofloading the goods into the bag and the placement of the bag tie 1000onto the handles of such a reusable cloth or plastic bag is the same asfor the plastic thin film type bag and thus need not be furtherdescribed.

FIG. 29 shows a view illustrating a method of tracking and measuring thesuccess of use of the bags times having promotional material printedthereon according to an embodiment of the invention. As depicted,beginning from the lower right corner of FIG. 29, a customer shops inthe store and has bags bearing the bag ties 1000 (having promotionalmaterial printed thereon) placed onto the bags, as described above.During the checkout process, it is common for a customer to use a“loyalty card” that uniquely identifies the customer to the store, sothat the store can track the customer's buying habits. Generally, thebag ties will bear some kind of bar code that can be read by the storeemployee during checkout as the bags are tied with the bag ties.

When the bags are placed into a shopping cart, or otherwise handled bythe customer after checkout, the customer will inevitably tend to viewthe bag ties, creating another opportunity for delivering a promotionalmessage.

Once the customer reaches his or her residence, during unloading of thevehicle, the customer will handle the bags again, thereby creatinganother opportunity for delivering a promotional message on the bag tie.

When the bags are placed into the customer's residence, and the bag tiesremoved to unload the goods into the customer's residence, the bags arehandled again, creating another opportunity for delivering a promotionalmessage on the bag tie.

As depicted in lower middle image of FIG. 29, the bag bearing the bagties is then placed into the customer's vehicle. During this process,the bags are handled again, creating another opportunity for deliveringa promotional message.

The retail store owner can have a central database to store informationrelated to both the customer's buying habits and which promotional bagties have been provided to which specific customer. As depicted in FIG.29, this customer information can be transmitted to the retail storeowner's computer and store in a database, as depicted in the uppermiddle image of two computer servers.

When the customer uses the bag tie to receive the promotional reward,depicted as “customer rewards” in FIG. 29, the retail stores system usesthe stored information regarding the bag tie, including customerreceived it, when, and what the customer purchased during that visit.Thus, by accessing the stored information related to bag tie in acentral database, thereby providing measurement of the effectiveness ofthe bag tie as promotional material for the specific customer that hasbrought it. For example, the customer information collected and storedby the system may show that 60% of customers who has purchased milkduring a visit when the bag tie was given to them used the bag tie toobtain a discount to promote cereal one week later (in accordance withthe promotional material, coupon, advertising or the like on the bagtie). That information may show, however, that only 20% of customers whopurchased paper towels used a bag tie promoting cereal used the bag tieto obtain a discount on cereal. This information would tend to show thatbag ties promoting cereal work better for milk buyers than paper towelbuyers and would help a retailer to better target their promotionalmaterial and determine its effectiveness.

FIG. 30 shows a method of using the bag ties in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention for delivering business promotionsto a customer or prospective customer. The method for deliveringbusiness promotions to a prospective customer comprises the steps of:providing a bag tie with one of the region defining an aperture forallowing the open top ends of the bag to pass over the bag tie in step901, having promotional information printed in the region other than theregion defining the aperture in step 902. In step 903, receiving thehandle portion of the bag and in step 904 permitting the bag tie to bemanually moved over the handle portion of the bag so as to close andfasten the open top ends of the bag, while the bag tie is in the view ofthe said prospective customer. In step 905, permitting said prospectivecustomer in a subsequent operation to remove the bag tie from the bagwhenever required by the prospective customer.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the presentinvention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to bestexplain the principles of the invention and its practical application,to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize theinvention and various embodiments with various modifications as aresuited to the particular use con-templated. It is intended that thescope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto whenread and interpreted according to accepted legal principles such as thedoctrine of equivalents and reversal of parts.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bag tying apparatus, comprising: a base with apair of horizontal parallel bag supports having free outer endscantilevered from a pair of vertical supports extending upwardly fromthe base, wherein the pair of horizontal parallel supports areconfigured for receiving the handles of a plurality of stacked bags; anda bag tie support and loading arm having a first end attached to thefirst vertical support by a supporting means, a second end of the bagtie support and loading arm having terminal end having a cut-out thereinand a plurality of stacked bag ties positioned coaxially.
 2. The bagtying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the terminal end having acut-out therein of the bag tie support and loading arm: supports ahandle portion of the bag; and permits the bag tie to be manually moveddown along the bag ties support and loading arm and over the terminalend having a cut therein so as to close and fasten the open top ends ofthe bag.
 3. The bag tying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein thebase includes a stationary base.
 4. The bag tying apparatus as claimedin claim 1, wherein the bag tie support and loading arm is pivotablyattached such that it can pivot so as to be disposed either over the bagor not over the bag.
 5. The bag tying apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein the bag tie comprises one or more regions.
 6. The bag tyingapparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein least one of the regions of thebag tie defines an aperture for allowing the open top ends of the bag topass over the bag tie.
 7. The bag tying apparatus as claimed in claim 5,wherein the region other than aperture comprises printed promotionalinformation
 8. The bag tying apparatus as claimed in claim 7, whereinthe printed promotional information is an advertisement or a discountoffer.
 9. The bag tying apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the bagtie comprises a bar code so as to allow the user to use the barcode foravailing some percentage of discount for a particular product.
 10. Thebag tying apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the customer scansthe bar code of the bag tie using a mobile phone so as to cause themobile phone to connect to a website.
 11. The bag tying apparatus asclaimed in claim 10, wherein the required website delivers a promotionalmessage to the customer on receiving the scanned bar code.
 12. The bagtying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shape of the bag tieis triangle, rectangle, polygonal, hexagonal, circular, cylindrical, ora polygonal, or the shape of a recognizable object.
 13. The bag tyingapparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bag tie is made up ofapproximately 40% recycled paper.
 14. The bag tying apparatus as claimedin claim 1, wherein the bag tie has multiple layers so as to connect thebag tie to the bag firmly.
 15. The bag tie as claimed in claim 14,wherein the multiple layers provide more surface for printing morepromotional information instead of a single layer.
 16. The bag tie asclaimed in claim 15, wherein the system records identifying informationregarding the identity of the customer and the customer's purchases atthe time the customer receives the bag tie, and also when the customeruses the bag tie for its promotional material, so as measure of theeffectiveness of the bag tie as a promotional material.
 17. A method fordelivering business promotions to a prospective customer comprising thesteps of: providing a bag tie with one of the region of the bag tiedefining an aperture for allowing the open top ends of the bag to passover the bag tie; having promotional information printed in the regionother than the region defining the aperture; receiving the handleportion of the bag; and permitting the bag tie to be manually moved overthe handle portion of the bag so as to close and fasten the open topends of the bag, while the bag tie is in the view of the saidprospective customer. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein themethod further comprises the steps of permitting the prospectivecustomer in a subsequent operation to remove the bag tie from the bagwhenever required. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein thepromotional information comprises advertisement and other discountoffers for the prospective customers.